Burger Interview

The Colorado College men are playing well at the right time. That is good news for the Tigers since they are now in position to battle for fifth place at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tennis championships at the Burns Park Tennis Center on Sunday morning.
 
It certainly was not easy against No. 7 seed Oglethorpe University, which the sixth-seeded Tigers defeated for the first time earlier this season. CC beat the Stormy Petrels 5-4 then and by the same margin again on Saturday in the losers' bracket.
 
“It was another tough, close match,” said CC head coach Todd Doebler. “(Oglethorpe) played better in doubles but we managed to get ahead 2-1.”
 
That was critical in such a tight dual meet punctuated by a number of hard-fought points. The confidence the Tigers had taking on Oglethorpe after that earlier win certainly helped, according to freshman Jack Burger who recorded victories at No. 5 singles and paired with junior Will Lindsay at No. 2 doubles. Freshman Robert Kasemodel's No. 4 singles win clinched the dual meet victory.
 
“Beating them before was a big deal for the older guys,” Burger said.  “We knew they would be a better team. Everyone knew what they had to do. We went out and did it and won. Beating them twice in one year is big for us. This has been a great experience for the younger guys.”
 
A chance to place fifth is another step forward for the Tigers program, which has placed as high as sixth in recent memory, according to senior Nate Burt.
 
“The top four seeds are all very strong,” Doebler said. “After that everyone is pretty even. To have a chance to play Centre for fifth will be a lot of fun.”
 

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Results
 
Losers' bracket quarterfinals
No.  6 seed Colorado College 5, No. 7 Oglethorpe 4

Doubles Competition
1. CC – Nate Burt/Lionel Zen Ruffinen def. Ethan Motz/Rajiv Didakaran 8-4
2. CC – Will Lindsay/Jack Burger def. Ben Hirsch/Kirk Zhao 8-4
3. OU – Craig Borne/Cedric Addie def. Robert Kasemodel/Zach White 8-4
 
Singles Competition
1. OU – Ethan Motz def. Nate Burt 7-6 (1), 6-2
2. OU – Ben Hirsch def. Will Lindsay 6-1, 6-3
3. OU – Kirk Zhao  def. Lionel Zen Ruffinen 4-6, 6-4, 10-5
4. CC—Robert Kasemodel def. Craig Borne 6-4, 6-4
5. CC – Jack Burger def. Cedric Addie 6-0, 7-5
6. CC – Oliver Gunter def. Josh Rosenburg 6-4, 6-4